A year of Europe
Sir: The folly of EEC membership for us in the British Isles.
I wish to congratulate The Spectator on its consistent opposition to Britain's membership of this quite unsuitable European Economic Community or 'Common Market'.
Our first year as members has, as all but the blind can see, brought us no tangible benefits to outweigh the terrible drain on our balance of payments situation, and the inflationary effects to British housewives, of being compelled to subsidise affluent French farmers through the mechanism of the EEC's Common Agricultural Policy.
This charity to French farmers was possible, although not really desirable before the price of oil was so dramatically increased by the oil-producing states. However, as we in Britain now reel under the blow to our balance-ofpayments of a greatly magnified import bill, for oil apart from other things, it is quite suicidal for us to continue to accept this additional burden of EEC food levies!
1974 is also the opportune time for the oil-producing states, with their greatly enhanced wealth, to take over the responsibility for aid to the lessdeveloped states — as the Shah of Persia himself suggested at the time of his Christmas announcement of dearer oil for the Western industrialised countries, including ourselves in the British Isles.
It is interesting to note that the French, far from showing a spirit of European co-operation, are adopting a policy of every country for itself with its long-term contract to supply arms to Saudi Arabia in exchange for oil at what are probably bargain prices by present day standards: as the Saudi Arabians put it in their press announcement, this agreement will help France to become the foremost industrial nation in Europe before long.
P. Michael Kingston Flat No 43 Western Court, Chapel Hill, Clevedon, Somerset.
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